education – Page 6 – Nannyjob blog

7 Ways to Get Your Baby to Fall Asleep and Stay Asleep

Whether you’re nannying or parenting (or both!) chances are you’ve experienced sleep problems with baby. Here are some tried and tested techniques to help get baby to fall and stay asleep.

Night Parenting Decisions

Develop a realistic attitude about nighttime parenting. Sleeping, like eating, is not a state you can force a baby into. Best you can do is to create a secure environment that allows sleep to overtake your baby. A realistic long- term goal is to help your baby develop a healthy attitude about sleep: that sleep is a pleasant state to enter and a secure state to remain in.

Stay flexible

No single approach will work with all babies all the time or even all the time with the same baby. Don’t persist with a failing experiment. If the “sleep program” isn’t working for your family, drop it. Develop a nighttime parenting style that works for you. Babies have different nighttime temperaments and families have varied lifestyles. Keep working at a style of nighttime parenting that fits the temperament of your baby and your own lifestyle. If it’s working, stick with it. If it’s not, be open to trying other nighttime parenting styles.

Decide where baby sleeps best

There is no right or wrong place for babies to sleep. Wherever all family members sleep the best is the right arrangement for you and your baby. Some babies sleep best in their own crib in their own room, some sleep better in their own crib in the parents’ bedroom. Remember – sleep is not a state you can force your baby into. Sleep must naturally overtake your baby. Your nighttime parenting role is to set the conditions that make sleep attractive and to present cues that suggest to baby that sleep is expected.

Get baby used to a variety of sleep associations

The way an infant goes to sleep at night is the way she expects to go back to sleep when she awakens. So, if your infant is always rocked or nursed to sleep, she will expect to be rocked or nursed back to sleep. Sometimes nurse her off to sleep, sometimes rock her off to sleep, sometimes sing her off to sleep, and sometimes use tape recordings; and switch off with your spouse on putting her to bed.

Daytime mellowing

A peaceful daytime is likely to lead to a restful night. The more attached you are to your baby during the day and the more baby is held and calmed during the day, the more likely this peacefulness is to carry through into the night. If your baby has a restless night, take inventory of unsettling circumstances that may occur during the day: Are you too busy? Are the daycare and the daycare provider the right match for your baby? Does your baby spend a lot of time being held and in-arms by a caregiver, or is he more of a “crib baby” during the day? We have noticed babies who are carried in baby slings for several hours a day settle better at night. Babywearing mellows the infant during the day, behavior that carries over into restfulness at night.

Set predictable and consistent nap routines

Pick out the times of the day that you are most tired, for example 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Lie down with your baby at these times every day for about a week to get your baby used to a daytime nap routine. This also sets you up to get some much-needed daytime rest rather than be tempted to “finally get something done” while baby is napping. Babies who have consistent nap routines during the day are more likely to sleep longer stretches at night.

Consistent bedtimes and rituals

Babies who enjoy consistent bedtimes and familiar going-to-sleep rituals usually go to sleep easier and stay asleep longer. Yet, because of modern lifestyles, consistent and early bedtimes are not as common, or realistic, as they used to be. Busy two- income parents often don’t get home until six or seven o’clock in the evening, so it’s common for older babies and toddlers to procrastinate the bedtime ritual. This is prime time with their parents, and they are going to milk it for all they can get. In some families, a later afternoon nap and a later bedtime is more practical. Familiar bedtime rituals set the baby up for sleep. The sequence of a warm bath, rocking, nursing, lullabies, etc. set the baby up to feel that sleep is expected to follow. Capitalise on a principle of early infant development: patterns of association. Baby’s developing brain is like a computer, storing thousands of sequences that become patterns. When baby clicks into the early part of the bedtime ritual, he is programmed for the whole pattern that results in drifting off to sleep.

How Nannies Can Help Home Schooling Families

With a number of positive factors including flexibility, term-time holidays, child-led learning and learning at the child’s pace, instead of the pace of the class, home education (home schooling in the US) has seen a huge rise in popularity and it’s not surprising that nannies have been stepping in to help.

Think about it, a nanny who helps a home educating family isn’t a far cry from a governess. Back in the day, governesses were hired to educate and care for the family’s children which allowed parents to focus on work and other pursuits.

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5 school skills you need to know

The end of the summer holidays is fast approaching and for many 4 year olds this means the start of their first year at big school. Whether they’ve been at nursery full time, attended some form of preschool or been at home, the transition to Reception can be a huge step. We’ve asked Rachel, a teacher with 11 years of experience welcoming new starters, for her take on the top 5 skills a 4 year old needs to know.

Be able to dress themselves

“Most 4 year olds can put on their own coat, but they might struggle with an unfamiliar zip or buttons. Likewise they can put on their shoes but new types of fastening can really slow them down. If your 4 year old can’t dress independently you should start encouraging them to do that right now and if you haven’t already bought those school shoes or a new coat don’t put it off. They will need some practice before the big day. Children who can’t do this by themselves really hold the whole class back and end up frustrated before class even begins.”

Be able to listen and follow instructions

“A lot of the first part of the term is spent helping children listen and follow the directions the adults in the classroom give. A child who can keep quiet and who can follow two-tier instructions such as ‘take your shoes off and sit on the mat’ is going to have a much easier time and a more positive experience of those early school days than one who wanders around lost because they didn’t listen or ends up getting told off because they sat on the mat with their shoes on. This also builds concentration, which is key to future success.”

Know when they need to the toilet

“Children often come to school dry but not fully independent. They still rely on someone to nudge them into going. When you have 30 children in a class that just isn’t possible and inevitably accidents happen. You can minimise that by making sure that your child is aware of the sensations of a full bladder or bowel and that they know they need to act on that.”

Be able to wipe their bottom and wash their hands

“Taking care of their own hygiene is something small children find quite hard, but it’s really, really important. We can’t spend all our time wiping bottoms, and stomach bugs and other nasties spread like wildfire in reception, which is probably linked to children who don’t wash their hands before returning to class.”

Be able to recognise their own name

“People are often surprised that I don’t put this first. In fact this is a useful skill, but it’s not essential. It’s far more important that children are physically independent, because that takes a lot of time and effort to teach them, which we just don’t have. But if a child can recognise their name on the first day they can find their peg, and their cubby or their drawer, and it gives them a sense of belonging. It also speeds up those transitions at the beginning of the day, between breaks and class-time, and between certain activities. And it means a child has made a good start on letter recognition and they’ll engage with literacy much more readily if they feel connected to the letters.”

How Nannies Can Help with Back to School

Back to school is often a nightmarish time for working parents. At a time of year where colds, illness, and head lice are rife, not to mention tantrums and an unwillingness to go back to school, it’s a time where your nanny can make the difference between a bad day and a great day.

We’ve put together our top tips for both nannies and parents to help with the back-to-school transition.

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What is Child-Led Play and Why is it So Important?

Child-led play is exactly what it sounds like; children choose what to play and the adults follow the child’s lead. The sole purpose of this type of play is to allow children to explore and discover independently whilst making their own choices and decisions about what to do.

We’ve put together some tips to help you encourage child-led play whilst also identifying learning opportunities:

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Double Trouble – How To Cope With Twins And Multiples

Having one baby is hard work, we all know that. The thing is, unless you have a multiple birth (or children very close in age) you don’t realise just how tiring and relentless (although extremely rewarding!) looking after two or more tiny tots can be.

So, as always, we have a wealth of top tips to help if you have your own, or nanny for, twins or triplets:

Routine is king. This, of course, applies in theory to all babies. You’ll find it is much more necessary with twins. Make sure you put the babies down to sleep at the same time, and try to feed them at the same time (or one straight after the other). Even of one cries for food whilst the other is sleeping, in the first couple of months it can really help to wake the other one to feed as well.

Togetherness. If possible, keep your babies together, whether this is in the same cot or just in the same room. Twin babies are almost always comforted by knowing the other one is nearby, and having physical contact with each other. They’ve had nine months of sharing everything, so it would be a massive adjustment for them to then spend a lot of time, or sleep, without the other.

Support system. It’s important to get as much help as you can as a parent of twins. If your partner has returned to work and you find yourself alone and incredibly stressed, pull in your support network. Ask relatives and friends or regular baby-sitters to provide relief, if you haven’ got a nanny. Remember that it will be easier for anyone to help you if you suggest specific tasks, such as feeding or bathing one of the babies, taking them out for a stroll, shopping, cleaning the kitchen, or preparing a meal.

Get some ‘me’ time. It’s important to have a little bit of time each day, if possible, to relax. Even if it’s a 20 minute bath when your partner gets home from work, or half an hour of reading before you go to sleep. It’s a fact that stress and anxiety are more common in parents of twins, so making sure you grab a few golden moments of time for yourself is key.

For more help and information on twins and multiple births visit Twins Trust | Twins Trust – We support twins, triplets and more…

Get Craft Happy For The Jubilee!

Let’s face it, even the least patriotic of us will be finding it hard at the moment to escape the media frenzy around the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June, and for those who do love a bit of classic English patriotism, why not get involved in your own creative way?! If you have toddlers or older children in your care, this is the perfect excuse to get their creative juices flowing, whilst teaching them a little bit about our monarchy at the same time!

So, I hear you ask, what kind of things can we make?! Here are a few of our best ideas to keep children happy and creative in time Jubilee celebrations:

Make Bunting:

You will need:

A length on string as long as you want your bunting to be
Coloured sheets of card in red, white and blue
A pencil
Sellotape
Scissors

This is a basic way of making bunting, so that little children can be involved as there is no material to stitch. Simply make a triangular template and get the children to draw around it onto the coloured card. Cut out the drawings and get the children to put them in order – red, white, blue, red, white, blue and so on. Fold about a centimetre of the top of the triangles over the string, and attach down on one side with a piece of Sellotape. Do this all the way along your string, and then attach the bunting either inside or outside the house! This is a fantastic exercise for fine motor skills, as well as recognising shapes and colours for children.

Make a Crown:

You will need:

A piece of cardboard around 4 inches wide, and long enough to go around the child’s head and overlap slightly
A strip of tin foil around 5 inches wide, and the same length as the cardboard
Scissors
Crayons, glitter, or stickers
Glue
Stapler

Glue the length of tin foil on top of the length of cardboard, matching the bottom edges up, so that there is an inch extra of foil at the top. Now, cut zig zags into the foil all the way along the top, giving a crown effect of lots of points going across the top. Now it’s time to really have some fun and decorate, using glue, glitter, crayons or stickers, let your little ones go to town on their individual crown decoration on top of the tin foil. When the decorations have dried, make a ring with the crown and staple each end together, to fit over the child’s head.

Union Jack cupcakes (makes 12):

What you need:

4oz caster sugar
4oz margarine
4oz self raising flour
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tsp baking powder
12 white cupcake cases

For the icing:

1 packet white ready roll icing
Apricot jam
Blue and red food colouring pens

Method:

Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases and preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
Cream together the sugar and margarine with an electric mixer. Gradually add the eggs, flour, vanilla essence and baking powder whilst mixing.
Half fill the cupcake cases and put into the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden and well risen. Take the cupcakes out of the oven and place onto a wire rack to cool.
Roll out the icing to around 3mm thickness, then use a circular cutter to cut out 12 circles.
Put some apricot jam into the microwave for 20 seconds to make it runny. Brush the cooled cupcakes with the jam, and then place the icing circles on top so that they stick. Draw a basic union jack with your blue and red pens on to the icing on each cupcake.

You now have some really Royal treats!

Adding to the ideas we’ve given, why not try making some red, white and blue pompoms, or get some plain white serviettes and get the children to colour some red and blue onto them, or even onto a plain white paper tablecloth. There are hours of fun to be had, all in the name of Queen and country – have fun!

How to Choose a Private Tutor

Choosing a private tutor can be a daunting task. It can be difficult to find a private tutor initially that is within your budget, and that offers the level of tuition you need, so once you have found one you will want to ask them the right questions to make sure they can deliver.

When you meet a prospective private tutor, you will want to ask them the following questions:

Are you DBS checked?
Your prospective private tutor may already have an enhanced disclosure, as many work with children or vulnerable adults in their ‘day jobs’. However, there are many that won’t have one. It is of course important to remember that DBS checks are not a guarantee of somebody’s safety to be around others in this way, but it’s a very important thing to look out for – especially if the private tutor is for a child or vulnerable adult.

How qualified are you?
There are no legal requirements for whom can provide private tuition. However, most agencies require that any private tutor on their books must be qualified to at least degree (or HND) level in the subject they wish to teach. Who you hire is of course down to you, and it may be cheaper to hire a private tutor who is in the final year or two of their degree – they will almost certainly have the knowledge and skills to teach to GCSE level, and they will be more affordable. In every case it is important to be sure that they are familiar with the current syllabus, too.

How much experience do you have?
Plenty of years of experience don’t always guarantee that a private tutor will provide a better service. However, as a general rule, the more years of experience they have, the better. Make sure you ask for references to see what their previous clients had to say about their tutoring skills, reliability, and results.

Do you have any teaching experience?
Being a master at your chosen subject is quite a different thing to being a good teacher. However, this does not mean that a private tutor without a PGCE will be a poor tutor altogether. It is better to look at their references and successes to judge what kind of a tutor they will be.

What are your terms?
You will need to know what the private tutor’s terms are for situations like missed sessions and lateness. Most private tutors will charge their full rate for sessions that are cancelled without very much notice, simply because they will likely not be able to fill the slot if not given enough forewarning. Also, you will want to find out what their policies are on keeping up with the student’s progress. The private tutor may wish to set up regular meetings, either in person or on the telephone, to let you know how things are going (this is of course assuming that the private tutor is for a child).

Get Your Perfect Nanny Job – CV and Interview Techniques

How Should I Prepare My CV?

It’s important to give your CV some thought and spend some time on getting it right. A well presented CV which clearly details your skills and experience can make all the difference in getting the job you really want.

How Should I Structure My CV?

Your CV should be no more than 2 pages in length and include the following sections.

Personal Details
Employment History
Education and Qualifications
Key Skills/Strengths
Referees/References on Request

Format

Make sure your CV is well laid out so that it is immediately easy to read and understand.
Use a standard font size, which is easy to read, such as Arial 10.
Keep it simple.

What Should I Put In My CV?

Focus on information which is relevant to your own career goals.
Use concise, unambiguous sentences, avoid exaggerations and a flowery writing style.
Do not make false claims; honesty is always the best policy.
Bullet points are useful to highlight relevant skills and experience and help break up continuous text.
Stress your past accomplishments and the skills you used to get the results you achieved.
Put your highest level of education first.
Put your most recent job first and work backward chronologically in time.
Ensure all dates are accurate and include months as well as years.
If you are making a career change, stress what skills are transferable to support your new career objectives.
Explain any long career gaps (i.e. travelling, maternity leave etc.) these will only need to be explained to our clients.
Keep to the same tense.
Customise your CV for specific vacancies by focusing on previous experience or skills that are relevant to the role.
Most importantly, always thoroughly proof-read your CV or ask someone to do it for you.

Think about yourself

It is important before a job interview to think about all the reasons why you are attending it and what you have to offer. Be ready to discuss both short and long term career goals in general terms.

What If I Have A Gap?

You will need to explain gaps in employment. If you worked in a temporary capacity but didn’t put it on your CV, know the details of where you worked, what you did, and the length of the assignments. If you did not work but did search for a job give some examples of the research you did regarding job opportunities and the process you went through to find the position.

Reasons for leaving

Prepare to discuss the reasons you left your previous jobs. If it was for a better opportunity, explain why it was better. If you left involuntarily, present the reason in the most positive light you can. Make sure your responses are honest and be positive.

Some points to consider

You must try to consider how you can display your skills and experience in a good and honest light and provide employers with the evidence that you are the right person for the job. Here are some brief points to consider:

Are you a self-starter, able to work without constant supervision?
Can you be depended upon in critical situations and follow work through to completion?
Are you enthusiastic and easy to work with?
Can you work under pressure?
Recruiters need to know what drives you to want the job and why you want to work for them in particular.
Can you manage your time effectively?
How do you structure your day’s work?
How did you handle sudden unplanned work or a crisis?
Can you handle constructive criticism in a productive manner?
Are you objective in evaluating yourself and others?
Can you work well with a variety of people?

Points to consider throughout the interview

Aim for clarity and honesty. Give honest answers with a positive tone.
Concentrate on the employer’s needs, not yours.
Emphasise how you can help the interviewer achieve their goals.
Describe your past responsibilities and accomplishments.
Explain why you approached projects in certain ways.
Explain how the skills you bring will benefit the interviewer.
Don’t downplay your accomplishments or attribute them to luck.
Be specific in your answers. Avoid rambling or going off on a tangent.
Ask for clarification if you are unsure of the question.
Take responsibility for communicating your strengths. Don’t rely on the interviewer to pull it out of you.
Explain your past successes, the more you can clearly describe the experience, the people involved, the challenge and the solutions, the more you’ll stand out in the interviewer’s mind.

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Special Needs Nannying – Helpful Hints

During a full and rewarding career as a nanny, situations will inevitably arise that provide a real challenge to you, and as we all know, from day to day the job is always varied and can be very interesting!

One situation you may find yourself in is becoming a nanny for a child who has special needs or learning difficulties. This can be one of the most rewarding challenges you can face in your career, and making a difference to a child in this situation is something you’ll take with you, and ultimately give you job satisfaction.

Of course, each child is different in any situation, and special needs vary in severity, but here we have compiled some general helpful pointers:

Clarity from parents Before you start, you’ll need to know as much as possible about the child, his current care plan, what makes him tick and what his limitations and frustrations are. The parents should provide this information before you start, but you’d be amazed at how many parents let you find things out for yourself. Ask for a comprehensive written care plan from them, and if you feel it necessary ask for time to chat to them every so often about how the care is going.

Network If the needs of the child have already been picked up on and you are going into this role with knowledge that the child has special needs, It is very likely that you will be working alongside other professionals; speech, physio, and occupational therapists, teachers etc. It will make your life easier if you have contact with these professionals, so that you’re in the know about what care is already taking place, and they may be able to shed some light on anything particular to the child that will help your role.

Build up trust Again, managing this all depends on the severity of the child’s needs, but (as with all children you nanny for) building up trust is vital if you are going to make it a long term, happy arrangement. Many children with special needs will need more time than usual to get a trusting relationship built up, and their frustrations can show before this happens, however over time you’ll hopefully find that you strike up a really good bond between you both, which will lead to a really satisfying role for you in the child’s life.

Encourage capabilities One of the best ways of helping a child with special needs, is to make them feel capable. Getting a heads up from parents on capabilities and limitations is important, but as time goes on you will realise for yourself what these are. Providing developmentally appropriate activities that will help the child feel capable, whilst avoiding activities that can be done only a certain way is the best way to go about this.

At the end of the day, the most important thing is to not get phased, and to remember what you’re there for! No doubt you’re already a fairly experienced nanny, meaning you know a bit about how to get the best out of a child in your care, and have a proven track record in doing this. Don’t lose sight of this role, and don’t be phased by this new situation. A good nanny will be aware of a child with special needs’ limitations, but also help them reach their full potential. First and foremost the child you are looking after is a child. It is secondary that they have additional needs.

Be sure to let us know if you have any experience or feedback on this issue, via our Facebook page..